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All flood-damaged Colorado roads to open before Dec. 1 repair deadline

Crews work on fixing flood damage to the road in Coal Creek Canyon on Monday. Damaged roads in Colorado are scheduled to be open by Dec. 1, but permanent repairs could take several years. (RJ Sangosti, The Denver Post)

The last two Colorado highways closed by the September floods will be back in business ahead of the Dec. 1 deadline set by Gov. John Hickenlooper.

U.S. 34 in Big Thompson Canyon re-opens to traffic Thursday, allowing drivers to go from Loveland to Estes Park after a ribbon cutting ceremony at 11 a.m.

Then, Colorado 7 between Lyons and Allenspark re-opens at 10 a.m Nov. 26. That 13-mile stretch is the last of 27 highways damaged or destroyed by the flooding to reopen, state transportation officials say.

"This is a big step for us and now we can move ahead with our partners and explore ways to make our roads better in the future," Colorado Department of Transportation spokeswoman Amy Ford said.

Hickenlooper credited government-private partnerships for the quick fixes that will get people back into their communities.

"The united effort of the Colorado Department of Transportation and its road repair partners has been remarkable," said Hickenlooper. "After the flooding we faced the daunting task of restoring 485 miles of damaged or destroyed highways. CDOT, the Colorado State Patrol, the National Guard and local governments have worked around the clock to reconnect Colorado's communities."

CDOT picked four contracting firms to work with state crews to repair the damaged roads while the state accessed $450 million in federal funds to pay for the work.